The SABC and pay channel SuperSport are headed for another collision course over the rights to broadcast the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup that will start next month.
The 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup, which will take place in India, will get underway on October 5 and will be concluded on November 19.
The SABC say that they have made an offer to MultiChoice, the owners of SuperSport, and that they are waiting for a response from the pay channel, who have all the rights to broadcast the tournament in South Africa.
Informants who are close to the negotiations, have revealed that SABC have put about a mere R3,5 million on the table for the sub-license rights, while SuperSport are demanding just over R20 million in order to sign on the dotted line with the public broadcaster.
Reads a statement from the SABC: “The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has made an offer to MultiChoice (DSTV) for the sub-licensing for the Cricket World Cup 2023 and awaits their response.
“This move seeks to enhance access to premier cricket content for the masses and reaffirms the commitment to providing the best in sports entertainment to citizens, regardless of their geographic location or economic status.”
This comes against the backdrop of the broadcast negotiations for the Rugby World Cup that is currently taking place in France.
A deal between Multichoice and SABC was clinched with only a few days to go before the tournament started.
The Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa was called to intervene with millions of SA rugby fanatics facing a free to air world cup blackout.
After last minute talks, it was agreed that SABC would transmit 16 matches and all Springboks games throughout the tournament.
The Springboks are defending the trophy they won in Japan in 2019 and it would have been a tragedy for millions of South Africans who do not have DStv subscription, if the games were not beamed live on SABC platforms.
Now, it seems that the two parties are now back on the same street with the Cricket World Cup.
The SABC say that they are waiting for the pay channel bosses to come back to them with a response, but it seems that another deadlock is on the cards with the kind of offer that has been put on the table to acquire a sub-license for the tournament.
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